My name is John Wilkes and I am a very zealous about Radicalism, from here on, I hope you guys should note that I am a Radical, a strong supporter of the Radical Movement, and I believe that there should be political reform even though it would have dramatic changes to the social order. I am also a member of the parliament. I fight for the right of the voters, instead of the House of Commons. One of my greatest achievements is becoming a member of the Royal Society of England. Our reigning king George III, allowed his friend Earl of Bute to be his prime minister. Many people believed Bute was incompetent for this job, and the best part about this is that I am Bute’s biggest critic. I am determined to make this man cry and resign! Anyways, in June 1762, I published the book The North Briton. I encourage those who haven’t read it, to well, read it! After the publication of this book, (I guess some people didn’t like it as much as I did) I was arrested. Even though I was supposed to be arrested, I went to court and I was excused. After this experience, I walked out somewhat “famous”. I am now known as the guy who publically criticized the King’s ministers.
I have told you about my present, so I might as well tell you about my past. My parents are Isreal Wilkes and Sarah Heaton. I was born in St. John’s Square, Clerkenwell on October 17, 1727. My father, Isreal Wilkes, was a successful gin distiller. He was first stationed in Southwark, and then moved to Clerkenwell. I had a fine education at a private school at Hertford, where the teachers noticed I showed a great interest in liberal education. Because of this, I was placed under to instruction of Reverend Leeson, who was a Presbyterian minister in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Under him, I received lots of teachings in classics and ideas in Arian theology, which incidentally converted me to freethinking. I will not fail to note that Rev. Leeson was probably one of the greatest teachers I have ever had. Anyways, from the school in Aylesbury, I went on to the University of Leyden. Here, I met new acquaintances and enemies as well. I met people such as Alexander Carlyle, William Dowdeswell, Charles Townshend, and most importantly, Andrew Baxter. After my studies here, I went abroad to travel in the Rhinelands. So that’s all for my education… now that you guys know where I come from, I hope you guys won’t take me as a fool.
So after all this education stuff, I guess I took the wrong path in life as I became a gambler. Along with my bad habits of being a gambler, I impregnated someone and had two illegitimate children, as I am ashamed to confess because I wasn’t even married yet. By as the years went by, I got married along the way to Mary Mead, who is 10 years older than me. I had a beautiful daughter named Mary, who was born on August 5, 1750. We live on my wife’s large estate and we are going through complications right now and maybe planning a divorce..? I’ll be sure to keep you guys updated on that though!
SOURCE: http://www.historyhome.co.uk/people/wilkes2.htm